Step 1: Monthly income
Before you can work out what you’re going to spend, you need to work out how much income you’ll have going into your bank account every month. This might change throughout the year if, for example, you only work over the holidays. Make sure you work out a different budget for those times when you have a lower income.
Step 2: Monthly expenditure
The most important thing to do here is to be honest! If you underestimate your outgoings, your money will vanish quicker than you realise. It’s a good idea to make a note of everything you spend money on; even if it’s just one takeaway. That way, you’ll know exactly where your money is going and can see where you could potentially cut down and save yourself some cash.
Step 3: Your totals review
Here you can see a concise figure of exactly how much is coming into your bank account each month and how much is going out. If the income total is higher than the expenditure total, you’re on the right track. If not, you need to really think about cutting down on those outgoings!
My totals
Total Monthly Income £
Total Monthly Expenditure £
Step 4: My monthly budget
So here it is! This is the amount of money it’s safe and sensible for you to spend each month, so your bank balance stays in positive figures. Remember to adjust your incomings for times when your cash flow situation changes, so you’ll get an accurate budget. Spend it wisely!
My monthly budget
How to use this tool
You can either use the navigation at the top of the calculator, or the ‘Next’ and ‘Previous’ buttons at the bottom of each form to work your way through the sections. Once you have added the fields required, view your results in the ‘Totals’ and ‘My monthly budget’ tabs. You can go back and adjust the amounts you’ve put in at any time by clicking on the tabs, or clicking ‘Previous’.